Brief Summary

Brief Summary The goal of this study was to evaluate the impact having a child with Down syndrome had on the family (Povee, Roberts, Bourke, & Leonard, 2012). Povee et.al. (2012) note the early research pointed toward negative impacts on the family when a child was born with an intellectual disability, however, more contemporary research indicates a wide range of response, thought to be influenced by the type of disability. The article identified the “Down syndrome advantage” as a trend noted where families developed better coping skills and experienced lower rates of divorce and other familial stress than families of children with other disabilities (Povee et al., 2012). This study aimed to view the impact on families of children with Down syndrome from both a qualitative and quantitative approach. The quantitative

500 parents of children with Down syndrome were originally sent invitation letters, while 363 chose to complete one of two versions of a questionnaire (Povee et.al., 2012). This was narrowed down to 224 parents of children with Down syndrome who completed the long version of the form and had children between the ages of 4-25 years old. Family factors of marital status, financial status, and education were noted. The ages of the children had a mean of 13.68 years and were 57% male (Povee et. al., 2012). Researchers were given ethical approval by Princess Margaret Hospital Ethics committee for the study. The variables studied included marital adjustment, family functioning and maladaptive behavior, while controlled variables included age, gender, functional ability of the child with Down syndrome, and the SES of the family (Povee et.al., 2012). Participates completed a multidimensional questionnaire about medical, educational, social, functional status, and needs of children and young adults with Down Syndrome. Results were provided in four tables, one figure and in written